Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial support they plan to provide to air services to and from St Helena when the new airport opens there.

As part of Her Majesty’s Government’s commitment to provide for the Overseas Territories’ reasonable assistance needs DFID will fund over the first two years any shortfall between the costs of operating the weekly service from Johannesburg and revenue from ticket sales.

A revenue management strategy is being developed by the air service provider in collaboration with the St Helena Government. This will be regularly reviewed to ensure that self-sustainability is reached as soon as possible.